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BMW‘S M3 has been king of the compact super-sport sedan world for more than two decades. For 2008, the E92 M3 gets its first V-8, rated about 420 horses, as revealed in the Geneva show car. But this super-select segment is heating up, with newcomers from Audi and Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz turning up the heat. Benz could trump everybody when it introduces a 63 AMG version of its new C-Class, probably in late 2008 or early 2009.

Meanwhile, Mercedes is firing a warning shot with a new AMG version of its CLK-Class compact coupe. It’s the CLK 63 Black Series, introduced at the New York Auto Show, with the 6.2-liter AMG engine stuffed under its hood. Sporting an uprated near-go-kart suspension and a removed rear seat, the CLK 63 is rated 500 horses and should give a clue as to how the power-to-weightratio will pay off in the C63 AMG. Fewer than 300 CLK Black Series are headed for the U.S., and all are coupes-it won’t be available as a convertible.